Achievements: Choosing life when faced with an unplanned pregnancy. More recently, raising a big family.

Lifelong to do list: Skydive, bungee jump and get a diver's certification. I'm definitely having a midlife crisis.

What scares you most about traveling? The fear that something bad will happen while I'm abroad and it will be hard for me to get to my family.

What excites you most about traveling? Being somewhere totally out of my comfort zone

If I could switch places with someone: A younger version of myself. I would love to have a do-over knowing what I know now.

Role model/hero: My husband, Joe, because his strength of character never wavers. He inspires me to be the best person I can be.

What are you passionate about? My kids! I love every part of being their mother.

What would you do if you won the million dollars? I would give at least 10 percent to my children's school and to the Muscular Dystrophy Association to help kids like my sweet nephew, Mateo. The rest would go to raising and education my children.

People would be surprised to learn: I am an at-home mom of 10 children, ages 18 months to 18 years.

Favorite place you have ever visited: I visited Rome, Italy when I was 23 years-old.

Biggest challenge you and your teammate will face on the Race together: Experiencing all the stresses the other teams are facing, with the added stress that we've only just met and are still getting to know each other.

What do you hope to accomplish by running the Race (other then winning one million bucks)? I want to get to know this person I brought into the world. I feel the opportunity of being together 24/7 for a while on the Race would give us the chance to know each other in a deeper way than we would if we met under normal circumstances.

Pet peeve about your teammate: I don't know her well enough to have a pet peeve yet!

Jenna Sykes

Age: 21

Hometown: Athens, Ga.

Connection to your Teammate: Biological daughter

Current occupation: Student

Favorite hobbies: Traveling, movies and enjoying the music and nightlife in Athens excites me.

Lifelong to do list: I would like to have a family, be successful and never be afraid to dream bigger than what I thought was ever possible.

What scares you most about traveling? Absolutely nothing

What excites you most about traveling? It opens my mind to entirely different perspectives and way of life. I love to see everything I can and be completely in the moment.

If I could switch places with someone: I wouldn't because I love my life! But, one Saturday as Uga (Georgia Bulldogs mascot) would be really fun.

Role model/hero: My parents. I'll be lucky to be half the person and half the parent that each of them are.

What are you passionate about? Traveling, seeing the world, writing, reading and loving my friends and family

What would you do if you won the million dollars? I would take my parents and friends to Italy and then save the rest.

People would be surprised to learn: I can rough it. I can't wait to go without makeup, without showering and without sleep on the Race.

Favorite place you have ever visited: I love Interlaken, Switzerland. It is the extreme sports capital of the world!

Biggest challenge you and your teammate will face on the Race together: Since we just met, it will be harder for us to race without knowing one another as well as the other teams do. We have to trust each other way more and have faith in ourselves.

What do you hope to accomplish by running the Race (other then winning one million bucks)? I hope to get to know my birth mother through this incredible opportunity. It is my hope that we will be able to spend a lot of time together and become friends.

« Last Edit: September 01, 2010, 12:00:01 PM by georgiapeach »

Logged

RFF's Golden Rule:Have RESPECT for each other, regardless of opinion. This of course includes no flaming/insulting other users and/or their posts.

K2Review

In terms of casting, I think this pair is a brilliant choice. The fact that they haven't known each other very long is kind of a new "twist" in casting, since historical Amazing Race teams have a pre-existing relationship. But the fact that they are a birth-mother/birth-daughter pair is just really interesting. Kudos to them for being willing to put themselves under a microscope so early in the process of them getting to know each other. Hope it ends up being a good thing for them!

What a great story they have! (kudos to casting on this one!). They seem genuinely nice, smart and looking to have fun. It also helps that they are both fans of the show. I so hope this works out well for them!

I agree that in terms of casting this is a great pair. Their story here is hard to root against. I can only hope that the race helps them improve an already solid relationship. I'm rooting for them to fair well, but the biggest obstical will be they don't know eachother as well as the other teams do.

That's what it "implies" to me, but it might mean something different to Andie DeKroon. In the end, it really doesn't mean too much race wise. Just a very unique side story to the race. I look forward to watching her and her teammate.

My daughter goes to Catholic school with Andie's kids. The ten kids are all hers, but they are from two marriages. Her ex husband (father of the first five kids) has leukemia and Andie helps care for him. I will never forget seeing Andie with her ex husband, current husband and all of the children sitting at Mass together one Sunday. They are an amazing family and the whole school is really happy for Andie and Jenna to have this experience together!